I am not a utility expert. I am a civil engineer, a Texas A&M graduate. Have I established my credentials yet?

Now that you've stopped laughing, I have a question:

You've got the grid. You've got every power plant in the country. You've got all the transmittion and distribution companies. You've got all the loads in the country. You've got a telecommunications network.

Scenario: Power plants are going off line all over the country. Loads are changing all over the country. Distribution centers are not functioning, then they are. We are trying to balance generation with the loads all over the grid. A power plant tries to hook back into the grid. Telecommunications are not functioning across all the country. Power plants who try to reconnect to the grid are not in communication with those on the grid. Power and loads are fluctuating all over the grid. Communications are not good enough to coordinate the power ups and power downs. How in thunder are we going to get this chaotic situation under control and how long will it take the grid to stabilize and replace all the damaged parts.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 1998